The 16 Best Lip Oils to Try Now

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Not quite a balm and not quite a gloss, lip oils are essentially the love child of both. These nourishing tubes of goo do both jobs with the finish of a shiny tinted gloss and the moisturizing benefits of a balm. Now you no longer need to complain about the stickiness of a lip gloss or be bored to tears with the utilitarian nature of a lip balm again. With more and more brands jumping on the lip oil train, here are a handful of the best we've tried, ranging from drugstore finds to dip your toe (or rather, the appropriate doe-foot wand applicator) into the novel lip product category to extreme luxury ones to match your Louboutin heels.

Butter London Sheer Wisdom Lush Lip Oil

With a couple clicks of the button at the bottom, this surprisingly creamy formula delivers a hint of tint and way more than a hint of conditioning oils like that of Tahitian coconut, sunflower and chia seed.

Christian Louboutin Beaute Rouge Louboutin Loubibelle Lip Beauty Oil

The biggest splurge on the list, this lip oil justifies its price tag with not only a sheer, glossy, visibly plumping version of Louboutin's signature red, but mermaid-inspired packaging that can be worn on an included ribbon as an amulet.

Elizabeth Arden Sheer Kiss Lip Oil

MAC Hint of Colour Lip Oil

This stain-meets-gloss has been a huge hit in Asia since its introduction last spring, and now, at long last, it's finally going to tint American lips with its color-changing formula when it launches stateside on March 15.

Lancôme Juicy Shaker Pigment Infused Bi-Phased Lip Oil

First things first: The tiny cocktail shaker is insanely adorable. Inside, pigments and hydrators including muscat-rose, sweet-almond, cranberry, and peach-kernel oils are meant to be shaken (not stirred) for a buildable sweep of high-shine color.

Milk Makeup Oil Lip Stain

If your end-goal is a sheer wash of color, this roller-ball oil is the ticket. Long after the quenching vitamin E formula absorbs, you're still left with a natural-looking stain that lasts a freakishly long time.

Julep Your Lip Addiction Lip Oil Treatment

Hourglass No. 28 Lip Treatment Oil

It's indulgent — and pricey — but this Hourglass balm is loaded with vitamins and moisturizers that leave even the craggiest mouths smooth and supple. The 24-karat-gold-plated applicator tip may sound gimmicky, but it allows product to glide ever so smoothly (and fancily).

Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil

Thanks to a unique gel texture, this hazelnut- and jojoba oil-infused oil lasts longer than a latte, delivering comfort to even the most-chapped skin with a giant and impossible-to-smudge doe-foot applicator.

Physicians Formula Argan Wear Lip Oil Duo

Two lip oils are better than one. Made with 100 percent pure argan oil, the slippery, coconut-flavored treatment delivers hydration on impact right out of the tube in two luminous shades: a glimmery gold and a soft petal pink.

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Take a look back at the last century of lips, from the defined cupid's bow of the 1920s and the beet-stained lips of the 1940s, to the white-pink mod lipstick of the 1960s and the glossy lips of the 2000s.